sign in sign up
<<
Home , Dushasana, Niyoga, Satyavati, Subhadra

Living on the fringes: Addressing deliberate exclusions in through Kavita

Kane’s ’s Wife – The Outcast’s Queen

Karna’s Wife: The Outcast’s Queen, written by Kavita Kane is a mythological novel published in 2013. This is the first novel of Kavita Kane. The novel tells the extra ordinary story of Karna, the unsung hero and the drastic change in Uruvi’s life after marrying an outcast.

The project entitled “Living on the fringes: Addressing deliberate exclusions in

Mahabharata through Kavita Kane’s Karna’s Wife – The Outcast’s Queen” was to find the marginalized elements in the novel of Kavita Kane. Marginalization is a process by which something or someone is pushed to the edge of a group. It is a social phenomenon by which a minority or subgroup is excluded and their needs or desires are ignored.

The project is composed of three chapters. The chapter one is all about theory –

Marginalization, which speaks about the social discrimination, social inequality and social stratification. Chapter two is about the unsung hero Karna, an outcast and his kshatriya wife

Uruvi, the humiliations, troubles and struggles faced by her after marrying Karna and the third chapter is about the forgotten heroines of Mahabharata. This dissertation tries to give voice to the marginalized characters in Mahabharata.

P V Aswathy

Reg no:170021017782 Living on the fringes: Addressing deliberate exclusions in Mahabharata through

Kavita Kane’s Karna’s Wife – The Outcast’s Queen

Project submitted to the Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam in partial recognition of

the requirements for the award of the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in English Language

and Literature

(Model II – Teaching)

P V Aswathy

Register Number: 170021017782

Sixth Semester

Department of English St. Paul’s College Kalamassery

2017-2020 Declaration

I do hereby declare that the project “Living on the fringes: Addressing deliberate exclusions in Mahabharata through Kavita Kane’s Karna’s Wife – The Outcast’s Queen” is the record of genuine research work done by me under the guidance of Ms. Princy

Dharmaj, Assistant Professor, Department of English, St Paul’s College, Kalamassery.

P V Aswathy

Certificate

This is to certify that the project work “Living on the fringes: Addressing deliberate exclusions in Mahabharata through Kavita Kane’s Karna’s Wife – The Outcast’s Queen” is the record of the original work carried out by P V Aswathy under the supervision and guidance of Ms. Princy Dharmaj, Assistant Professor, Department of English, St. Paul’s

College, Kalamassery.

Dr. Saliya Rex Ms. Princy Dharmaj Head of the Department Instructor in-charge Department of English Department of English St. Paul’s College St. Paul’s College Kalamassery Kalamassery

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank Ms. Princy Dharmaj for her assistance and suggestions during the writing of this project. This work would not have taken its present shape without her painstaking scrutiny and timely interventions. I thank Dr. Saliya Rex, Head of Department of English for her suggestions and corrections. I would also thank my friends, teachers, and the librarian for their assistance and support.

P V Aswathy

Contents

Page No.

Introduction 1

Chapter I 8

Chapter II 11

Chapter III 18

Conclusion 25

Work Cited 29

Introduction

There is a common notion that nothing can’t beat the original one, be it in the case of music, literary works and technology. But through ages, many literary works are retold and presented in different perspectives. Retelling of epics contributes to the exploration of unraveled stories about the unsung heroes and heroines in it. It provides us with a new insight about the unknown perspectives of them in a more positive manner.

Various critical reading explored the importance of unsung heroes who were neither praised nor honoured, for example, Second Turn (Randamoozham) by M. T.

Vasudevan Nair, retells the story of Mahabharata from ’s perspective, where Lord

Krishna the master brain of Kurukshethra War is portrayed as the villain and , the so-called hero of Mahabharata has minor role in this work, while Bhima turns out to be the hero here. And the retelling of the great epic from Bhima’s point of view helps the reader to comprehend the hero in Bhima and to perceive him well. Jaya an illustrated retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik, The Palace of illusion by Chitra

Banarjee Divakaruni and The Rise of by Sharath Komarraju are some novels through which Mahabharata is retold. The voices of women or outcasts’ are rarely heard in the original versions, but the retold versions highly scrutinize on the suppressed groups.

“There is nothing about our oldest stories that never gets old. Rereading classical mythology is for me an exercise in surprise and recognition mixed together”

(Henstra).

Aswathy 8

Epics like Mahabharata and are familiar to the people of India to a very great extend. Since the Vedic literature was vast, varied and contained higher realms of thought of seers and sages, it was only understood by the learned. Here comes the revelation of such epics which were intended to impart knowledge to the common people.

For Indians, they are not just religious texts, they are also a strong source of divinity, happiness, contentment, and so on. People imbibe morals and motives through the stories in them. Therefore, writers like Maheswetha , Girish Karnad and Kavitha Kane chose the mere mentioners’ in these texts, then studied, analyzed and were introduced and dealt in the main stream. Writer Kavita Kane in her first novel Karna’s Wife: The

Outcast’s Queen, creates an imaginary character Uruvi and retells Mahabharata through her point of view. Women had played great roles in Indian mythologies, however certain female characters are knowingly or unknowingly less established in the texts. In the attempt of focusing on the protagonist and his glories we seldom forget about the mere mentioners’. Such important but weak personalities gain prominence in retelling and their latent stories are unleashed and elevated. For example, the love, adoration, dedication and veneration of Lakshmana towards his is illustrious. But nobody is cognizant of his wife Urmila, who asked Lakshmana to take care of her sister and she sacrificed or slept the entire fourteen years of their exile, so that Lakshmana could stay awake. Alike Urmila, there are many uncelebrated heroines in mythologies including

Thara, , Sathyavati, Hidumbi and many more. One such woman is Kane’s Uruvi.

Karna’s Wife: The Outcast’s Queen is a novel, penned by Kavita Kane and was published in 2013. Through Karna’s Wife, Kane reels off the Outcast’s Queen Uruvi, a fictional character created by Kane. The novel, told from Uruvi’s point of view, unfolds

Aswathy 9 against the backdrop of the epic struggle between the Panadavas’ and the ’. The seed of marginalization was strewn throughout the human history and the consequences of which we ripe in the name of casteism. The novel justifies itself as a work based on marginalization. It also attempts to have a vast study of this topic of pointing out the humiliations and insults faced by the so-called Sutaputra – Karna and his Queen Uruvi, who lived a magnificent and indulgent life before marriage and the drastic change that came about in her life after being the Outcast’s Queen.

Kavita Kane is an Indian writer well known for her writings on Mythology fiction. She is an alumna of Fergusson College, Pune and completed her Post graduation in English literature and mass communication in the University of Pune. She worked for

20 years in various media houses. Kane calls herself a true-blue Puneite, despite having been born in Mumbai and grown in Patna and Delhi. Having studied and lived in Pune for many years, she considers herself as good as married to the city, where she lives with her mariner husband, Prakash, two teenage daughters, Kimaya and Amiya. Karna’s Wife is her first novel which turned into a grand success, after this novel she became a full time author. All of her work focuses on the unpraised heroines of Hindu mythologies.

She had initially contemplated making Vrushali – Karna’s first wife as the protagonist but realized she was limiting in the scope of the character. Uruvi was thus created out of dramatic licence. She is fierce, righteous, outspoken yet fallible. In an interview to The

Hindu, Kane points out that:

“I wanted a woman who would see him for what he was: a tragic hero with a flaw.

A wife was the best to see him not just as a husband but as a political person, as a

hero, a warrior, a condemned, conflicted and torn man…At first, I wondered if the

Aswathy 10

story should be told through his mother’s eyes but finally decided on the wife.

After all she was his partner, his conscience.”

“Marginalization has been conventionally understood in a specific societal context and with distinctive connotation to delineate social groups living in peripheral and adverse situations and on time with alleged negative attributes” (Singharoy).

Marginalized group is viewed with hostility and bitterness, and it is an experience affecting millions of people throughout the world. The forms of marginalization are very, and it changes from country to country. It is true that more marginalized group exist in third world, especially in developing nations. Women, people with disabilities, dalits, aged people, children, minorities, poor, sexual minorities, etc. are most vulnerable marginalized groups in almost every society. Kane’s Karna’s Wife – The Outcast’s

Queen also speaks about the marginalization in mythologies.

The first few chapters of the novel speak about Uruvi, princess of Pukeya

Kingdom, the only daughter of King Vahusha and Queen Shubra. She had inherited her mother’s glorious beauty and her father’s sharp mind, and both sizzled in her short flashes of temper. Uruvi is much loved, protected and pampered by her parents, and is brought up in comforts. She is a shrewd woman who will not hold herself back from questioning the wrongdoing whosoever it may concern. She falls in love with Karna and decides to marry him, even when she could have married Arjuna. These incidences become the epicenter and her life status changes. Her parents accept her decision, but the royal clan does not pardon her for marrying Karna, the son of a charioteer. Later, she does get adjusted and accepted in the house of Sutaputra Karna.

Aswathy 11

Even though it is a story of Karna’s wife, it enumerates Karna’s character from a very close observation. “Karna is among the most popular and complex characters in the

Mahabharata, shoeing both nobility and nastiness throughout the story” (“Karna – Hero or Villain?”). This book also ephemerally touches the most debated topic of ’s unrequited love towards Karna. The mixed feeling of Uruvi has for Draupadi makes

Uruvi akin to any jealousy wife. The fight of right and wrong is a continued theme throughout the book. Karna’s blind support to is another highlight of the novel.

Being the second wife of Karna, Uruvi received hatred from people around her.

Karna’s brother Satruntapa was never ready to accept her as the sister-in-law, he consider her as royal blood and an outsider. His parents feared that she might take away Karna from them. She was not a typical wife, and she gave moral support for Karna in the war of Kurukhshetra. She also took care of the wounded soldiers. Uruvi always protected

Karna, she have always asked him to move away from Duryodhana, because she knew that Karna is just a pawn for him. She always raised her voice for , when

Kauravas’ insulted Draupadi, Uruvi supported Draupadi and went against Kauravas’.

Draupadi’s vastraharan created a turning point in the story, where Uruvi, who crazily loved and admired Karna, criticized him for fueling the situation and for wounding

Draupadi with his words.

The Mahabharata contains themes that are highly significant to the contemporary society and culture. The dilemma faced by the underprivileged groups is reflected in the epic. Dynamics of marginalization and empowerment of women as well as those born in low caste or who were uneducated in ancient Indian society is presented noticeably in the

Aswathy 12

Mahabharata. For example, , the mythical composer of the Mahabharata, himself belonged to the marginalized community-being the dark skinned illegitimate son of

Satyavati, the daughter of a fisherman of the Nishada race. Therefore, there are many characters that are dark skinned considered as outside the Vedic community and therefore marginalized. Interestingly, chief among them are , Vyasa, , Draupadi and many more. It is interesting that epic characters like Satyavati, Vyasa, , Karna,

Draupadi, , and above all Krishna stand out in the society because of their individual abilities. The epic continues to be socially and culturally pertinent in the modern age influencing and molding the evolving multiplicities of human responses and human behaviour.

The Mahabharata reminds a common man about the Oath taken by

Pitamaha, the great gurus’ and , the blind King Dridarashtra, the honest and loyal Yudishtira, strength of Bhima, the dream hero Arjuna, Krishna’s advice for Arjuna in the form of Bhagavatgita, Draupadi’s Vastraharan and many more. But nobody is aware of the marginalized group of women or the women who sacrificed their entire life in Mahabharata. Some of them are, Hidumbi - wife of Bhima, Vrushali - first wife of Karna, Uthara - wife of Abimanyu, Kane’s Uruvi and many more. Kavita Kane has acknowledged in an interview that she had initially contemplated making Vrushali -

Karnas first wife as the protagonist but realized Vrushali was limiting in the scope of the character she had envisaged as Karna’s wife. Uruvi was thus created out of dramatic licence. The Pukeya princess is fierce, righteous, outspoken yet fallible and vulnerable.

Kane has placed Uruvi as the protagonist because she is brave and she will never flow

Aswathy 13 with the waves, and she gave much importance to her own sense of judgements and decision.

Aswathy 14

Chapter 1

Marginalization - Class and Caste Hierarchy

Marginalization usually talks about social discrimination. The social discrimination is presented in the form of hierarchy where one group is dominant and the other is at lowest subordinate level. To represent the social condition, many sociologists have used the term social stratification. “The process by which individuals and groups are ranked in a more or less enduring hierarchy of status is known as stratification” (“Social

Stratification: Meaning, Origin, Development and Other Details”). The term social stratification connects with all the factors of social inequality such as age, ethnicity, gender, caste, power and class.

“Social stratification is based upon a variety of principles. So we find different type of stratification, the major types of stratification are: caste, class, estate, slavery”

(“Social Stratification: Meaning, Types and Characteristics: Sociology (2446 Words).”)

The social stratification elaborates the division of uneven population in the form of upper class and lower class or layers, depending on financial position, wealth, gender, ethnicity, power, status, age or many other aspects. Consequently, there seems an unequal sharing of rights, privileges, duties and responsibilities among the social class. Even social values and privations also occupy inequality. Moreover, social capability and power become unequal and diverse among the member of society.

Thus, marginalization is the theory of class and caste differentiation in society and it comes up with two social differentiations. One is based on class and the other on caste differentiation. Nowadays, class has become more powerful factor in the social canvas.

Aswathy 15

A homogeneous social branch of the people with common characteristics and identifiable by some common attributes, and not class in the sense of a social group distinguished by its relation to the means of production.

Caste and class are viewed as the two most significant dimensions of social stratification. They are intertwined with each other. They are rigid and tough, so they can’t be separated. Both have occupied wide range of issues that dealt with signal of status, level of equality and inequality, cultural and structural interaction. Class usually connects someone’s position within a social hierarchy. The paradigm of this position is a job, a person does and the respect attached to that position within the social stratification.

The upper class concept revolves around wealth and as a result, they receive special privileges in the society. This class is constraint with special superiority over others.

They receive as well as expect unique attention and respect at the every corner of society.

On the contrary, the lower-class is sustained with specific scorn, hatred, underestimation, injustice and maltreatment of public. They got prohibited from various activities open to public. Many times, they get lashed by discourteous treatment from others. Some branded castes are put under a prejudiced surveillance from the police. Consequently, they face an insulting position as if they were being put to for some kind unknown deed.

Marginalization revolves around agency that discriminates, isolates, shames and excludes subordinate group based on, religion and gender. The marginalization of caste occurs because of some fundamental features of the caste system. Castes in India are fixed by social cultural and economic rights respectively by birth and there are lots of restrictions in them regarding behaviour. Marginalization centers on caste systems and tribes. Women and other disadvantaged groups are affected by disabilities. On account of

Aswathy 16 marginalization, the caste system walks around the concepts of impurity and purity in previous time. The lower caste people like Dalits were prohibited to use the public economic services. Because of this system they faced discrimination and were denied rights for livelihood.

Thus, the caste system encompasses both aspects of ‘culture’ and ‘society’. It is content with sets of rules and practices for the regulation of social organization, interaction and power in Indian society. Thus, the caste is a symbolic system where the distribution of honor shapes the caste hierarchy. Prestige is the group association rather than individual association. It is so because of the prestige of an individual relies on his caste honor. Thus, caste structure exemplifies power and prestige.

Aswathy 17

Chapter 2

Karna’s Wife – the Unrecognised heroine

Marginalization is the process where someone or a group of people are pushed to the edge of a group and they lack importance. This is predominately a social phenomenon by which a minority or subgroup is excluded and their needs or desires neglected. The marginalization of caste occurs because of some fundamental feature of the caste system.

Castes in India are fixed by social, cultural, and economic rights respectively by birth and there are lots of restrictions of them regarding behaviour. Marginalization centers on caste systems and tribes. This kind of discrimination was embarked from ancient period and even spotted in mythologies. “If the epics were real incidents that happened in some past, there is no doubt that it initiated the present practice of marginalization” (Sukumar).

Although, the marginalized people then and now suffer the same humiliation and degradation.

“A tragic hero is a person, usually of noble birth, with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. This person is doomed by fate, some supernatural force to be destroyed, or endure great suffering. The hero struggles admirably against this fate, but fails because of a flaw or mistake” (Ray). The most apt definition of a tragic hero is what considered being that is given by Aristotle in Poetics where he clearly distinguishes a tragic hero from that of a hero. According to him a tragic hero is: a person who suffers more than what he deserves, his fate must be greater than he lives in his life or what he deserved. He must be doomed from the beginning of the plot but does not possess any responsibility

Aswathy 18 for possessing his flaw, he must be noble in nature but imperfect at the same time allowing the audience to connect with the character.

Karna fit the above traits in an apt way emerging as the tragic character in the epic

Mahabharata. Marginalized and outcaste from the society they definitely suffered a lot more than what they deserved. Karna, however, is marginalized at birth, being cast away by . Like Thetis who had been indirectly responsible for the death of her son

Achilles for leaving his heel vulnerable, Kunti later leaves Karna, her firstborn, vulnerable by making him promise not to kill any of except Arjuna.

Uruvi was much attracted to Karna at her first sight. She couldn’t take her eyes from him, she was fascinated by his build body, the confidence in his eyes, his golden Kavach

(armour) and shinning Kundals (earings). It was at Hastinapur’s archery contest, when

Karna was about to fight with Arjuna, Bhima insults him. He was more capable than

Arjuna in archery skill, but he was questioned for being a low caste. But Duryodhana who hated Pandavas, supported Karna and made him the King of Anga.

“King of Anga indeed! You are but a son of our charioteer, your father is

Adhiratha, a charioteer in my Uncle King Dhridarashtra’s army. You are no

prince, you are no warrior! You don’t need a royal insignia or a bowl. All you

need is a whip to drive the horse! Or it would seem more appropriate if you had a

brush in hand to clean the horses. You are fit to rule the stables, not the kingdom

of Anga!” said Bhima (Kane, 5).

Uruvi is deeply hurt by the insult Karna has to suffer in the arena because of his parentage. This incident has created more feelings for Karna in Uruvi.

Aswathy 19

Uruvi’s love for Karan was intense, her father King Vahushya firstly disagrees the marriage claiming that, he would never like to accept Karna, a Sutaputhra and malevolent

Duryodhana’s friend as his son-in-law. But then, Uruvi informed that if she never marries

Karna, she would stay unmarried. Vahushya let her know that if she marries Karna she would be a weapon in Duryodhana’s hand. Vahushya disliked Karna, he felt Karna similar to the troublemakers , Duryodhana and Dushyasana. Uruvi corrected him by arguing that “he is not a wrong man, the wronged man, a good man trapped in a bad situation” (Kane, 18). King Vahushya’s boundless love for Uruvi, forced him to proceed this marriage.

Karna presumptuously says to Uruvi, that he is lucky to be Radheya, the

Sutaputra, the son of Adhirata and . He loathes his true parents. He wants to have nothing to do with them. But sometimes society will not allow him to forget his parentage. He doesn’t miss them emotionally because, fortunately, he has been blessed with the love of both Adhiratha and Radha and he always regard them as his parents. He proudly says that he have been brought up in the Suta tradition and have got married Suta bride, he is happy with his first wife Vrushali. Karna also doubts that whether Uruvi, a

Kshatriya princess will be able to live a life with a Sutaputra and he doesn’t want Uruvi to experience the same insults because of him. Karna also informs Uruvi about his hatred towards Draupadi and that hateful day. The day he was humiliated by Draupadi, calling him Suthaputhra in front of many other kings who arrived at her swayamwara and she accepting his all time opponent Arjuna as her husband. On that day, Karna lost the selfrespect and selfworth and his son Sudhama, who was killed in the scuffle after the swayamwara. The wound created by Draupadi in Karna was healed up by Uruvi, who

Aswathy 20 rejected Ajuna and married Karna, when she had been insulted by the angry suitors of her own swayamwara.

Thus, Uruvi becomes an Outcast’s Queen and therefore like Karna is socially marginalized too. She falls from a grace by marrying a Pariah. Sadly enough, for Uruvi is doubly marginalized once she steps in the Pariah palace. Karna’s brother Satruntapa did not like Uruvi, he considered her a royal blood and an outsider. “I am not against Karna bringing another bride home, but she’s a Kshatriya princess, a stranger, an outsider who will never be able to mingle with us. She is sure to disrupt the peace of this house.

Worse, she may take him away from us” (Kane, 45). His old parents Radha and

Adhiratha, were worried. When Uruvi reached his house it was Vrushali who had welcomed her to her new home, standing tall and elegant, holding a silver thali bearing incense, tiny bowls and other items used for the pooja. The strongest bond between Karna and Vrushali created a sense of discomfort or jealous in Uruvi. In the beginning of her marital life she didn’t even know whether Karna loved her, but as days passed Karna and

Uruvi grew a strong bond between them.

After being the outcasts queen Uruvi started facing new challenges every day.

Uruvi was the new trump-card of Duryodhana. People started to treat her as a wife of a

Pariah. All the ladies she knew were ignoring her, barely acknowledging her except for patronizing nods. Queen did not invite her for a formal post wedding fest, while

Yudhishtira’s wife Devyani, was openly cold to her, not even glancing at her when they met. The aunts and uncles at whose home as she had been accustomed to lunches and family feasts also treated her with frosty disdain. At a family lunch that her mother hosted, Uruvi noticed many relatives did not attend and the few who were present, stared

Aswathy 21 at her, giving her the cold shoulder. Now her marriage to this unsuitable man provided them with just the suitable weapon to wound her. She was neither the princess of Pukeya anymore nor would she ever be accepted as the queen of Anga.

Uruvi’s reversal of fate and fortune meant social chastisement. Her friends like

Princess Ruta and Princess Usha fast disappeared from her life a whiff of smoke, leaving behind a distastefulness that was hard to dismiss. Uruvi could not quite get over the sudden impertinence of her old friend, Princess Gouri, who had turned out to be a spiteful gossip. Once Uruvi asked Bhishma Pitamaha about her marriage with Karna, he says that

“I was not happy with the marriage, but if you wished to marry Karna, you have my blessings” (Kane, 61). She said to Bhishma Pitamaha that “society is neglecting him, not accepting his talents because he’s the son of a charioteer, but he is an extraordinary man.

He makes no secret of the fact he is a Sutaputra and is not ashamed of it. Arjuna has won because of his noble birth and not because of his merits” (Kane, 62). Uruvi concluded their conversation by clearing the doubts of Bhishma by informing him that Karna is now with the evil Duryodhana, because he was the only one who rescued Karna from every humiliations and made him the King of Anga. At the Hastinapur’s contest it was Karna who stood up and said “If the combat cannot take place merely because Karna is not a prince, why, that is easily remedied. I crown Karna as the king of

Anga”(Rajagopalachari, 24)

Karna and Arjuna had inadvertently begun a terrible rivalry years ago which was to pan through their lifetime. Guru Dronacharya had refused to accept Karna as his disciple, upon which Karna had sworn to prove himself. It whetted his resentment against the collective rank’s of kings and nobility and Arjuna in particular. After being rejected

Aswathy 22 by Dronacharya, Radheya decided do practice martial arts on his own. According to

Ashwatthama (Son of Dronacharya and one of the closest friend of Karna and

Duryodhana), if Arjuna could hit one eye of the parrot, then Karna could hit both the eyes in a single shot. Both Karna and Ekalavya were ruthlessly swept aside to make way for

Arjuna as the best archer in the country. Drona’s treatment of Karna was as malicious as the pitiless suppression of Ekalavya’s talents, not just because Ekalavya was a tribal but because he would have been a threat to his favourite disciple, Arjuna. Like Karna,

Ekalavya was rejected and callously cast aside so that Arjuna could feel secure and become successful. The main prey to Dronacharya’s love and extreme partiality for

Arjuna was his own son, . If guru frowned on the friendship between his son and the Sutaputra, the son resented the strong bond between his father and Arjuna, the proud Guru and his devoted Shishya (disciple). According to Devdutt Pattanaik,

“Through Karna, Vyasa reiterates that our knowledge of the world is imperfect based on perceptions and false information” (“Jaya Quotes by Devdutt Pattanaik.”)

“Karna’s Wife tells us a story preserved long ago in the repertory of Uruvi – a story which includes her life and the lives of all the men and women whose voices and even deliberately denied so far. Uruvi’s story is not the story of chivalry but a saga of lost dream, a saga of endless sufferings” (Roy). Uruvi was always fearful about the closeness of Duryodhana and Karna, she knew that Karna is just a powerful weapon against

Pandavas for the power hungry wolf Duryodhana. When Duryodhana and his wife

Bhanumati invited the newlywed couple Karna and Uruvi to their palace, Uruvi refused to go claiming that Queen Ghandari cold shoulders her and Ghandari does not even speak

Aswathy 23 to Karna civilly. Moreover, Duryodhana never invited Karna and Vrushali together to his palace and it is because Vrushali is a Suta.

Dushasana did not bother to give Karna the respect he expected. In greeting, he always bowed low to Uruvi, but he never bent his head or fold his hands for

Karna. Karna noticed this but remained silent. It was at the rajasuya ceremony, Uruvi meeting Draupadi for the first time. But Draupadi’s strange behaviour, for she seemed to be avoiding. Uruvi had not been formally introduced to her and had not seen her the entire day. Uruvi had not even received a formal invite for the ceremony, it was Kunti who had coaxed her to visit and the new palace.

On the thirteenth day of War, when sun was about to set, Arjuna’s arrow killed Karna, Kunti, who came there mourning, declared that he is her son. And ironically, it was at his funeral that Karna gained legitimacy, something that he had craved for all his life. And the guilty Pandavas, offered the crown of Hastinapur to

Vrishaketu (Uruvi’s and Karna’s son), but Uruvi neglected. Later he became the King of

Pukeya.

Aswathy 24

Chapter 3

Forgotten heroines of Mahabharata

The role of women in the Mahabharata makes an interesting study providing insight into the strengths and weaknesses of their character. Their assertiveness and self- confidence made them rebellious and tough enough to deal with the Patriarchy and

Gender-based discrimination.

One such woman was Satyavati, she was the Queen of the Kuru King of

Hastinapur and the great grandmother of Panadavas and Kauravas princes. She is also the mother of Vyasa, author and composer of and . Her story appears in

Mahabharata, the and the Devi .

Daughter of the Chedi King Uparichada Vasu and a cursed turned fish

Adrika. Satyavati was brought up as a commoner, she had been adopted by a fisherman- chieftain Dasharaj on the banks of river . Due to the smell radiating from her body she was known as Matsyagandha. As a young woman Satyavati met the wandering

Rishi , who fathers’ her son Vyasa out of wedlock. The sage also gave her a musky fragrance, which earned her names-Yojanagandha and Gandhavati. Later King

Shantanu, fascinated by her fragrance and beauty, fell in love with Satyavati. She married

Shantanu on a condition put forth by her father that their children inherit the throne, denying of Shantanu’s eldest son and crown prince Bhishma. Satyavati bore Shanatanu two children, Chitrangada and . After Shantanu’s death, she and her sons with the help of Bhishma ruled the Kingdom. Although both her sons died childless, she

Aswathy 25 arranged her first son Vyasa to father the children of the two widows of Vichitravirya through .

Born as a princess yet abandoned at birth, and raised as a fisher woman, she has her own battles to fight. In her quest to fulfill her desires, her pawn in her scheme of things is Bhishma, who was forced to vow a life of celibacy and relinquish the throne of

Hastinapur. So that, his father could marry Satyavati. Satyavati does regret this later.

She was wise, honest, trustworthy, and faithful. She always had the Kingdoms best interest at heart. Satyavati loved her children more than life. She desperately wanted to see her boys grow up, in prosper, and live a life full of contentment, pleasure and joy.

Satyavati never got to see her children grow, though. She was not blessed with the experience of seeing her son graduate from anything, or guide the troops into battle. The grief that seized Satyavati from the loss of her youngest was unbelievable. For a child to pass away before its mother is a tragedy beyond comparison. It is the greatest stress a person can face throughout their lifetime. Satyavati was forced to push her grief to the side in order to find a new heir to the throne. She has always been so thankful for

Bhishma, the son of her husband Shantanu by a previous marriage with River Goddess

Ganga. Although, he may not be her own son he has always gone above and beyond, and he treated her and respected her as if she were his own mother. In return, she never withheld her love, support or respect from him. Satyavati had never been able to be the mother she wanted to be to Vyasa, but she still loves him deeply and treasured the memories she had of him. Satyavati’s heart never fully healed from the loss of her sons.

Aswathy 26

Another significant unpraised heroines of Mahabharata are Amba, and

Ambalika, princesses of Kashi, Amba who was secretly in love with prince Shalva, the

King of Saubala. One fine day king of Kashi declared the Swayawara of his three daughters. Amba was about to select Shalva as her husband. But suddenly Bhishma arrived in swayawara and abducted all three princess as a bride of his younger step- brother Vichitravirya. Bhishma did it on the command of his step mother Satyavati, as king of Kashi did not send invitation to Kuru dynasty as he found Vichitravirya inferior to him. So Satyavati wants to teach him a lesson. Amba begged to Bhishma and

Vichitravirya to let her go to Shalva. They allowed her to go because he already had two wives, but Shalva denied accepting her as she was touched by another man. Pity Amba returned towards Vichitravirya and asked him to marry her, but he denied, then she went to Bhishma, but he was not able to marry her as he had taken a vow of celibacy as per the wish of his step mother. A furious and mighty Amba refused to return to her father, she was looking for revenge against Bhishma who dragged her into the hell. She requested the help of many Kings, but nobody was ready to fight against Bhishma. Later Amba was pretty sure that only Mahadev can help her. She became a devotee of Lord . Shiva appeared in front of her seeing rigorous austerities and offered her a boon that she can kill

Bhishma in her next life. Hearing this she jumped into fire and killed herself. Later she was born as King ’s daughter Shikandini in her next birth and helped her brother in laws Panadavas to defeat Bhishma in Kurukshetra. Her sisters Ambika and , become childless widows soon after the death of Vichitravirya, later through Niyoga they gave birth to the heirs of Hastinapur. They have not enjoyed any sort of pleasure from

Aswathy 27 their husband, and they couldn’t conceive from him. Their life after his death was pitiful and miserable.

Many are unfamiliar about the fact that Kauravas were not just hundred , they also had a sister whose name was Dushala. It is only when we take a deeper look into history that it turns out that Dushala leads a life full of misery and troubles. And even though she had hundred brothers and also five Pandavas as her cousins nobody really took care of her. As a child Dushala enjoyed all comforts that life could give and she was greatly pampered. However, her sufferings began in the later years of her life, when she got married to the King of Sindhu - . He was a known warrior with a rather peculiar disorder. He has a split personality disorder and due to this he often become impolite to women. And it was due to her husband’s disorder that Dushala had a miserable life. However, things got way out of hand when one day, Jayadratha tried to abduct Draupadi. The Pandavas frees Draupadi and wanted to kill Jayadratha. Since

Draupadi requested the Pandavas not to kill Jayadratha as he is their only sister Dushala’s husband. Owing to their love for Dushala, Jayadratha was not killed by the Pandavas, but they punish him by shaving his head. That was quite insulting for Jayadratha and he decided to seek vengeance for what had happened to him. While Dushala was extremely ashamed and angry with her husband due to his dreadful behavior. Later at Kurukshetra

War, Jayadratha killed and revengeful Arjuna shot an arrow which cut

Jayadratha’s head. And in one single action, Dushala’s world came crashing down. Years later after the war, Arjuna became responsible for the death of his nephew Suradha, son of Dushala. Dushala, was completely shattered by having lost her husband and son.

Aswathy 28

Then, Arjuna decided to put an end to this, he then immediately appointed Dushala’s grandson as the next king of the Sindhu Kingdom.

Another unknown character of Mahabharata is Bhanumati. Nobody is familiar about the goodness in wicked Duryodhana’s wife Bhanumati. In Karna’s Wife, Kane gave a significant role to Bhanumati. Some versions of the Mahabharata state that

Bhanumati was one person who had severe objections to Draupadi’s treatment after the game of dice when Dushasanna tried to disrobe her in the court. According to

Kane, she’s the closest friend of Uruvi, she always tried to correct her husband. As stated by Bhanumati, Duryodhana is perfect, excluding his enmity towards Panadavas, he is a perfect husband, father and a king. Bhanumati tried to change Duryodhana’s picture in

Uruvi’s mind, but Uruvi always believed that Karna is just a weapon for Duryodhana against Panadavas. But Bhanumati explained his love, affection and respect for Karna.

After the , alike every woman Bhanumati became distressed seeing the death of her husband and her son.

Many are unaware about the fact that Pandavas had other wives than Draupadi.

But they are not allowed to live with their husbands’ in Indraprastha (they made a vow not to bring other wives in their palace and Draupadi would be the sole Queen of their

Kingdom, except who was privileged because she was the sister of Krishna) and they have to remain in their parent’s house. was one such women, she was a

Rakshasa, a kind of demon who lived in forests. Certain circumstances forced Bhima to kill (brother of Hidimbi) and marry Hidimbi. But Bhima was forced to leave her and their son Gatothkacha at jungle, because the society never accepts the marriage of a demon and a kshatriya. Bhima never visited Gatothkacha and Hidumbi again. He has

Aswathy 29 forgotten about Hidimba and their son and is reminded by Krishna during the initial stage of Kurukshetra. And the Pandavas used mighty Gatothkacha as a weapon in the war leading to his death. Thus, Hidimbi being the first daughter-in-law, remained on the periphery by the sheer disadvantage of being a woman.

Subhadra and are another relevant characters in Mahabharata, Subhadra is lucky somewhere, as the sister of Krishna she have had enjoyed many privileges. She was about to marry Duryodhana, but she has eloped with Arjuna, her cousin. Draupadi had merrily welcomed Subhadra to Indraprastha, because she’s the sister of her friend

Krishna. But later, her life was not that smooth, a pregnant Subhadra had to witness the exile of her husband Arjuna. She have had to wait years in Dwaraka for Arjuna,

Abhimanyu (son of Subhadra and Arjuna) was brought up by Subhadra alone, in the absence of his father Arjuna, Subhadra’s brothers’ Krishna and Balrama trained him well.

Subhadra who adored Draupadi, dedicated her son for Draupadi and sent him for the war, for killing people who had humiliated his step mother Draupadi. Later he had a gruesome death in the battle field. His wife Uttara was widowed at a very younger age, she tried to burn herself on the pyre of Abhimanyu, but Krishna stopped her from doing so, informing the only heir of Kuru dynasty in her womb.

Another, muted character of Mahabharta was Vrushali, wife of great warrior

Karna. Although she played a minor role in Mahabharata, she was an extraordinary woman. Even though she was from a charioteer clan, she granted permission for her sons to support their father Karna by taking part in Kurukshetra War. She was the support system of Karna. All of her sons were killed in the Kurukshetra war (according to

Kane’s Karana’s Wife) and she gave her life after Karna’s death by doing . Thus,

Aswathy 30

Kane, through her fictional character Uruvi, gave sound for many unsung heroines in

Mahabharata, who were completely neglected and left muted by the writers of different eras.

Aswathy 31

Conclusion

Women have been ignored in Indian mythologies. Barring a few exceptions, women find mere mentions in both Ramayana and Mahabharata. For instance, we have defamed Ravana and his entire family but are ignorant of his wife Mandodari’s piousness and the key role she played in protecting Sita, in Ashok Vatika. Another such woman who has been disregarded all along but is worth knowing about Uruvi, the wife of Karna, and that is what Kavita Kane has attempted to do in her book, Karna’s Wife - The

Outcast’s Queen, tell us the story of Uruvi. Her story runs parallel to the events of the

Mahabharata. How each of those events shape her and her peaceful life, forms the upshot of Kavita’s book.

In Karna’s Wife, the way in which Uruvi’s story is blended with Mahabharata is remarkable. Kane has done a laudable job in bringing out the emotions of a wife who, despite knowing the future of her husband, is helpless. The well known characters Kunti,

Duryodhanan, Bhishma, Dronacharya, Arjuna, Draupadi etc. perfectly fit into the story.

The story of Mahabharata has not been explained in a great detail in this book, but it is a work of fiction, the author has maintained the structure of the great epic intact.

Karna has been an incarnation of courage, virtues and true friendship. It is said that behind every successful man there is a woman. This is the story of a woman behind

Karna’s success, a woman who stood with him through his thick and thin, a woman who supported him despite his faulty ways. When Karna’s unshrinking loyalty to Duryodhana leads him towards the path of destruction, she tried to persuade him but was unsuccessful.

When Draupadi is tarnished in the royal court by Kauravas, Uruvi acts as Karna’s

Aswathy 32 conscience keeper and leaves him. When it become evident that the great war

Kurukshetra would lead to Karna’s death, she tried to dissuade him from participating.

But his loyal friendship with Duryodhana never allowed him to hear her.

This is a novel that gave life for the forgotten and hidden characters and it unfolds through Uruvi’s eyes and thoughts. By retelling, the author has managed to put positive spin on the losing side of the battle as well as the heart and soul of Kauravas and Karna.

Karna’s life could have been a better one if one person had the courage to speak up and few others had pushed the truth out. He was the thread that could have tied both

Pandavas and Kauravas together and eliminates the entire massacre of Kurukshetra.

Kane has also included new channels in the story, death of after ’s death, which was actually an evil plot created by Shakuni, Arjuna and Subhadra’s marriage which caused another reason for Duryodhana to hate the Pandavas, because he was supposed to be married to Subhadra. The story of Ekalavya, who was ruthlessly swept aside by Drona for his favourite disciple Arjuna and the story of Ashwatthama, the hopeless son of Dronacharya and the beloved friend of Duryodhana and Karna, his father’s love and affection for Arjuna alienated Ashwatthama. The novel also explores another marginalized people of Mahabharata, including , son of King

Dridarashtra and a dasi, who didn’t get any privileges as he was born in the womb of a

Sudra. And Vidura, brother of Dridarashta and Pandu, he was also defamed due to his birth from a Sudra woman. The different side of Kunti is also explored in this novel, who had abandoned her first child Karna soon after his birth. A colossal mistake of Kunti, gave Karna a deplorable life. The relation that can’t be defined between Draupadi and

Karna is delved here. The unprecedented brother of Karna, Satruntapa is also introduced

Aswathy 33 here, who disliked Uruvi. His character is a perfect example for a person from a Suta community and their attitude towards kshatriyas. The novel also reveals the story of beautiful and determined Gandhari, who was forced by Bhishma to marry Dridarashtra – the blind king.

The doubt that struck in every reader is the true nature of Duryodhana, if

Duryodhana extended his hand of friendship and welcomed Karna into his life and heart because Karna bested Arjuna or because Duryodhana was naturally a good-natured person except towards Pandavas. Or truly, he valued the valor in Karna that he considered him his equivalent though he was low caste raised or did he seen ace in Karna that he could use against Pandavs.

Kane’s Uruvi has come forward to give voice for the uncelebrated heroines.

Which includes Bhanumati, Hidumbi, Vidura’s wife Parshavya etc. And it amazes every reader, that even though Lord Ram had practiced and preached ‘one man one wife’ policy in the Treta Yuga, but when the world reached Dwapara Yuga, during the period when lord Krishna was supreme, men still had multiple wives. Even in this, Karna openly says that he is happy with his wife Vrushali, but only the rejection and humiliation caused by

Draupadi had stopped him from going to swayamwaras. Even Arjuna though married to

Draupadi had loved Uruvi and wanted her as his wife.

If the epics were real incidents that happened in some past there is no doubt that it inaugurated the present system of marginalization. If it were myths even then it marks the onset of marginalization. One fight that Karna fought all along was to have caste equality in every aspect for until recently ’, Kshtariyas’ and Vyshyas’ were

Aswathy 34 considered superior castes and Sudras’ (sutas) were the lowest caste with few benefits.

Fortunately, the tides have turned in the twentieth and twenty-first centuary, for now the

Sudras’ are the ones rich and privileged.

Aswathy 35

Work Cited

Henstra Sarah. “10 Brilliant Retellings of Classical Myths by Female Writers.” Literary

Hub, 4 Apr. 2019, lithub.com/10-brilliant-retellings-of-classical-myths-by-female-

writers/ Accessed 13 Jan 2020.

“Jaya Quotes by Devdutt Pattanaik.” Goodreads, Goodreads,

www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/14756358-jaya-an-illustrated-retelling-of-the-

mahabharata. Accessed 13 Jan 2020.

Kane, Kavita. Karna's Wife: the Outcast's Queen. Rupa Publications India, 2013.

Kane, Kavita. “Through Another Pair of Eyes.” The Hindu, 6 Mar. 2020

“Karna – Hero or Villain?” Isha Sadhguru, 18 Oct. 2019,

isha.sadhguru.org/in/en/wisdom/article/karna. Accessed 15 Jan 2020

Rajagopalachari, C. Mahabharata. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 2002.

Ray, Rebecca. “Tragic Hero Definition: Tragic Hero Examples & Activities.” Storyboard

That, www.storyboardthat.com/articles/e/tragic-hero. Accessed 15 Jan 2020.

Roy, Abhay Kumar. “A Vantage View of the Centre: Exploring Marginality in Kavita K-

ane’s Karna’s Wife”, indusedu.org.IJREISS_2127_18079.pdf.

“Social Stratification: Meaning, Origin, Development and Other Details.” Sociology

Discussion - Discuss Anything About Sociology, 21 Jan. 2014,

www.sociologydiscussion.com/social-stratification/social-stratification-meaning-

origin-development-and-other-details/2260. Accessed 16 Jan 2020.

“Social Stratification: Meaning, Types, and Characteristics: Sociology (2446 Words).”

Your Article Library, 10 Dec. 2013, www.yourarticlelibrary.com/sociology/social-

Aswathy 36

stratification-meaning-types-and-characteristics-sociology-2446-words/6199.

Accessed 20 Jan 2020.

Singharoy, Debal. “Marginalization and the Marginalized: reflections on the Relational

Cumulative Dynamics.” ResearchGate, Jan. 2010,

www.researchgate.net/publication/317425246_Marginalization_and_the_Marginali

zed_reflections_on_the_Relational-Cumulative_Dynamics Accessed 20 Jan 2020.